September 16, 2013 8:11 am

Seattle Seahawks’ Derrick Coleman jumps on Seahawks’ Marshawn Lynch (24) after Lynch scored his second touchdown of the second half of an NFL football game against the San Francisco 49ers, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2013, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

Good morning. We’ll have our Monday Morning QB chat at Noon today. And Pete Carroll will hold his regular press conference at 5 p.m. instead of 3 p.m. this afternoon.

Let’s take a spin around web and look at reaction to Seattle’s impressive, 29-3 win over San Francisco.

Blog search

Twitter

About

Gregg Bell joined The News Tribune in July 2014. Bell had been the director of writing for the University of Washington's athletic department for four years. He was the senior national sports writer in Seattle for The Associated Press from 2005-10, covering the Seahawks in their first Super Bowl season and beyond. He's also been The Sacramento Bee's beat writer on the Oakland Athletics and Raiders. The native of Steubenville, Ohio, is a 1993 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., and a 2000 graduate of the University of California, Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism.

To Richard Sherman,, For the record, I’m not an ignorant idiot. I expected/predicted us to win in a blow out!! I excepted/predicted us to shut down Boldin easily and I expected/predicted us to shut down their running game under 80 yards!!….

Carpenter is a beat when he gets rolling…. and glad it wasn’t the ankle with Okung, I was starting to imagine his name entering the dictionary, something like this: Okung (v) -ed, to injure one’s ankle with no visible roll or contact. Ouch! I okunged my ankle, get me the crutches.

Good on you for posting here the day after GoldenGate – – it’s just one win, and this Hawks fan isn’t expecting a walk-over to the division title. Still, it does feel good today – unbelievable performance by our defense yesterday. Every facet of the game. Never seen our guys play the run AND the pass that well.

I don’t get the feeling of disrespect derived from pundits picking the other team to win. It is not as if the result was a foregone conclusion or guaranteed. Nor does saying you think the other team would win imply any disrespect. Richard Sherman was getting so much love last night from Chris Collinsworth…it was almost as if he had transcended the inane jabbering in the media from last season and the off-season. The Seahawks can hardly claim the disrespect angle even if many pundits did pick the 49ers to win this one game. I just don’t get where that is coming from.

madpunter88, you must not have been paying attention. There were a lot of things said about how Boldin and CK would beat the Seahawks in an easy win,,, These so called experts were saying Boldin was too good for Seahawks,, and CK was the real deal. But here in Seattle, we knew the truth,, even before the game Sunday night.

Monday doesn’t feel so horrible this week, first the Dawgs, and then the Hawks. If only boxing wasn’t fixed and Mayweather got jaw jacked it would of been the perfect trifecta. Feels good to be a Seattle sports fan right now, real good.

If Bailey or Bowie would have been active… Do we think one of them would have gone in to replace Okung?

I don’t remember McQ playing much at LT, and watching Smith abuse him may be a good indicator as to why. Granted Smith is probably the best he will have to face, I do not want to see McQ at LT much more.

It was a solid win, and somehow I don’t think we will overlook the Jags, although Gus Bradley may get that horrible team motivated. I think that weather delay saved our bacon (as well as our D) though. RW looked nervous and out of sorts until after that break. He needed to start fresh after that and he somehow did pretty good despite Aldon Smith destroying McQuistan play after play.And the Beast? Unbelievable. Our D is nasty though. Just wait until we get more rushing weapons back. Sherman was lights out, although he gets a D for his after game comments calling people idiots and accusing Har-boy of poor sportsmanship. Just not classy.

“I don’t remember McQ playing much at LT, and watching Smith abuse him may be a good indicator as to why.”

Yeah, Smith is one of the best in the league, and w/his speed he’s an absolute nightmare for McQ. But, that said, we need batter back-ups at the Tackle spots. How can McQ be the first man up for that key role, when he’s so obviously not up to it athletically? Need to look for someone better there.

It’s a big deal that we were still eventually able to put up points against that defense w/out Okung.

“They’re a good football team,” Harbaugh said. “I give them a lot of credit, they played very well tonight.”

That’s a quote from a article in todays San Jose Mercury News. So as much as I don’t like Harbaugh, at least he was willing to admit it just was not a case of bad SF play. I have read some comments at different sites this morning from 49er fans and overall, they admit that at the very least, the Seahawks seem to have the 49ers number. Don’t think we can claim real bragging rights until we beat them in their back yard this Dec 8th.

This was an epic win on a number of levels. First, for those who thought last December’s trouncing of the forty niners was an anomaly, yesterday’s win provided an exclamation point. Yes, we are for real. Second, we had a decisive win even though we weren’t even close to playing at the top of our game. And finally, we were missing a number of key players on both sides of the ball. If we remain healthy, we will only get better.

Bennett impressed me. Avril had a good game. Sherm played lights out, making Boldon seem pedestrian. Wilson had a so so game, but still got the job done. That’s what tough-minded professionals do. Lynch definitely made up for last week. We knew Beast Mode wouldn’t remain hidden for long.

This Defense is finally playing at a Championship Caliber. Whether it’s an extra year of maturity, the “loss” of Gus Bradley or the free agent acquisitions, it deserves every bit (and more of the hype).

Also, regarding the displeasure of the OL play, merely average OL play will win championships. Think about the LTs of the last 5 Super Bowl Champions. Did any make the Pro Bowl? The most overrated position in the internet world is here on Seahawks Insider and it’s the position of Guard. The loss of Hutchinson damaged so many and so few have let it go.

The pass protection and run blocking were adequate after Okung left and I think Okung is a flat out STUD. The Seahawks Offense even got a bit stronger.

I put very little of the struggles in the passing game on the OL play. The QB has enough time. I put it on some combination of the QB and the Receiving targets. Without buying the All 22 package, I can’t say for sure what is going on. But given Rice’s inability to create even a modicum of separation or catch the tough passes, he seems like a liability. And for all of Golden Tate’s amazing athleticism, he has no consistency. I’m not even sure if he is where Wilson expects him to be, unlike Baldwin. And finally, once the pocket does collapse on Wilson, he does have to escape it to make a play because of his size. That could make the protection seem worse than it is. I also think he needs to hold the ball a bit longer than most because finding the right passing lane is a must for him.

Hey in our pick’em contest – more people picked SF than Seattle when I filled in my choices late Friday night. so some on here didn’t believe the hawks would win this one either.

Okung wasn’t providing much better on Smith before he went out.

speaking of Smith’s – how blatant was the hit on RW? It was hard to say from the stands. but it looked pretty bad. I love how all the world whines about Matthews “clotheslining” Kaepernick (but he didn’t arm was right across the chest) but think it is ok when they hit Wilson twice on feet first slides and a late shot or 2 behind the line. They loose all rights to complain about any hit that CK takes for the rest of the season.

Let’s not get too hopeful for an Okung sighting any time soon. Turf Toe usually involves damage to the ligaments in the big toe. It can take up to 2-3 weeks for the pain to go away.

Unless it is severe enough to require surgery the treatment is rest. So Okung is pretty much going to be out for Jax and may be out for the Texans and Colts as well.

Just so we can get everybody ready for PC speak. Each and every week it will be a ‘game-time decision’. Each week we won’t find out he’s not playing until inactives are named an hour before game time. Each week the talk after the game will be how ‘close he is, but we just didn’t think he was ready yet…’.

So to eleviate any angst on here, let’s just start out by assuming Okung will miss the next three games and hope he comes back sooner.

Man that felt good, it’s so hard to resist going all SHERM in the SF threads but I will be the bigger fan. Our D is the TRUTH, even the game they beat us last year they only scored 13. We’re going to lead the league in pts allowed again & I bet we beat last years total. Wait til we have Harvin, Irvin, Clem & hopefully a healthy Okung. Can’t wait to see what we do to that Jacksonville offense, I’m definitely benching MJD, shouldn’t have drafted him in the first place but oh well… GO HAWKS!

Kapernick sounded like Harbaugh has been training him for interviews. Before the game, after the game – sounded like a sourpuss. (“No relationship with Wilson.” “They didn’t do anything, we just didn’t execute.” Better figure out how to execute, Kap.

Whitner – “We know exactly what Wilson is going to do.” Since he knew Wilson was going to throw that 51 yd pass to Wilson, I wonder why Whitner wasn’t in position to defend that play? I guess he can pat himself on the back that he made the tackle.

Seattle opened as a 17 point favorite over Jacksonville in Las Vegas. That is one of the biggest spreads I have ever seen for a pro football game. It’s really quite huge.

In the age of instant media, I wonder if people now are overreacting to wins and losses – denigrating Seattle @home because of a lackluster road win against Carolina, and pumping up the 49ers because they had a big home win against Green Bay. It was only one game, but it seems like people are basing everything off the last thing they’ve seen.

RG3 – not so much class, but more like about-to-be-benched.
Kap – more nights like last night, and he will start to look good in a miami dolphins hat.
RW – found a way to get it done last night, but shows he is truly the offenses leader.
Luck – I’m penciling in that game as the big tell on him. How does he hold up against our D. For that matter, I think they see the 49ers next week..could be a bad bad day as they find their feet this week.

The Jaguars could be one of the worst teams of the past 30 years. Gus Bradley coaching Chad Henne or Blaine Gabbert isn’t going to end well this year. Anyone see them winning even a game because I dont.

Pabuwal, I don’t know if receivers are in the wrong place, bad play calls, or whatever, but I wouldn’t blame Rice for not catching un-catchable passes. RW was not sharp last night, for whatever reason. Showing some inexperience I imagine. To call the pass-blocking adequate is being generous. SF lines are very good so it’s understandable that it didn’t hold up well.

My opinion, SF traded the wrong guy. I think Alex Smith’s only problem out of college was the lack of good coaching or inconsistent offensive coaching leadership at SF. Under his new coach, my guess is that he will have a much better half to his career.

Kap has tools, no doubt, but he is no Russell Wilson. He is still locking on to his primary receiver. Also, he thinks with his feet early, but is much more inaccurate than RW on the move.

SF would have done themselves a huge favor if they had kept Alex Smith. Time will tell, but my guess, Pete’s seahawk game plan for Kap will become the book on him. It will come down to personnel if other teams can duplicate what the hawks did last night.

Alex Smith? Think you’re throwing Kaepernick under the bus way too early. One bad game against Hawks’ defense and he’s history. He went to the Super Bowl last year. Niners are short of receivers. If he had Crabtree it would be a very different story. Smith had plenty of time to show what he had with niners. He’s not bad but Harbaugh wanted more.

bird_spit, I do think that CK will be better than Alex in the long run…. Alex is pretty good against average defenses and he always struggled or can’t carry his team when it counts, like in the playoff. I give a lot of credit to 49ers FO for this trade, although I’m not a big fan of them in general. CK needs improve or fix his weaknesses. If he can do it, then he could be Above average or even a Top 10 QB,, imo.

Over on Field Gulls, in the middle of one of the game review articles it’s pointed out that:

“- The Seahawks won the time of possession by a total of 36:43 to 23:17. If the defense only has to defend for 51 plays a game, it will be like entering the playoffs having gotten three or four games of rest.”

Lots of rest and fewer chances for injury seems like good things to me.

“Alex Smith? Think you’re throwing Kaepernick under the bus way too early. One bad game against Hawks’ defense and he’s history. He went to the Super Bowl last year”

Agree. Ridiculously optimistic on our side to think Kaep is history after one bad game in the most hostile environment in the league and with a sad-sack group of receivers (Boldin’s game against GB was an anomaly imo). Niners aren’t going anywhere. This was one awesome win, but it’s still just one game in the standings.

pdway, I thought the same thing. I think Bowie or BaIley would have held up much better. IMO McQ is the weakest link on the OL. At the very least they could’ve done as well as McQ and been learning the position at the same time.

I think last nights performance by the passing game was the result of several factors. One, the weather; Tate doesnt fall down if it isnt soaking wet, and the field conditions seemed to equalize everyone and make speed and agility almost a moot point–keeping ones balance became the be-all, end-all. Also, many of RW’s throws seemed to sail on him, likely due to the wet ball slipping a little as he released it. Two, Rice is not 100% yet. Three, SF keyed on staying in tight coverage on the WR’s. Fourth, because of the injury to Okung, the fierce SF pass rush, and the generally poor play of the O-line, Zach Miller was kept in to block an awful lot, limiting the options in the passing game.

Fifth, RW didnt keep the ball on a bunch of read-option plays where he should have, and I think its clear that our offense is not working unless and until RW runs a couple option plays to keep the D on its heels. Thats what was working last year, and without that added pressure, teams can just beat our O-line up, as they havent overpowered anyone consistently.

Sixth, the pass routes I saw were pretty conservative, and SF seemed to know them all. This was not Bevell’s finest hour as OC. Seventh, the “special” or new plays Bevell cooked up for this game all went fizzle, especially the red-zone plays. This negatively impacted the passing game in a big way, as the plays were chicken-little type plays–short passes that took too long to develop, with too much trickery and movement going on.

I think the weather was a huge factor for Seattle. RW still seems to be a little off on many of his throws, whether its a timing thing or aim, or what I dont know. And he was seriously holding the ball too long with Okung out–again, I think the Hawks coaches are having him do that, and I dont like it.

The good thing is that RW is a perfectionist, and will correct the problems in his game. Also, the team has shown remarkable resilience and tenacity the past two weeks. So far, no one can hang with them for four quarters. Now, eventually the mental errors, sloppy play, and lack of discipline could cost them–you cant play the first two quarters of every game on autopilot and expect to win–but give credit where its due; no matter what happens, Seattle plays damned hard to the final whistle. And so far, they are undefeated, despite a host of problems–injuries, O-line issues, etc–which is pretty cool!

Imagine what Seattle might do once Irvin and Clemons are back, and IF/When the O-line begins to gel!

princedean–I dont know if Bailey/Bowie would be better–but Im sure interested in seeing firsthand! McQ has lost a step since last year, Sweezy still shouldnt be starting, and Carpenter is working himself into shape still, and will be for awhile.

To top it off, Unger has played poorly two games in a row. He’s usually such a consistent performer…Something has GOT to be wrong with him. Im wondering if he’s got broken fingers or a sprained wrist or something they arent mentioning…

I was glad to see Carp playing a lot, and thought he looked better this week. Thats encouraging.

I still cant believe Seattle broke the noise decibel record! Thats awesome! (FLorio the douche doesnt buy it, but he’s hated Seattle ever since he met Jim Mora in the airport and Mora was nice to him…since we fired his “buddy”, Florio acts like a jilted lover towards the Hawks…loser!)

136.6 decibels is horrifically loud! Having damaged my ears from hundreds of rock concerts, I can tell you that when its that loud, permanent damage ensues unless you use serious earplugs. I hope Seattle’s D had plugs in!

Have you thought about this: They script the plays to get a feel for how they are going to be defended. Then after they see how they are going to be defended they call plays, using what they have learned, to attack the areas they feel they can attack.

It’s not like they are calling early plays in hopes of getting stopped (but they do learn from them). And when they score early – all the better!

Scripting the first series, 15 plays, what-have-you, was started by Bill Walsh (he scripted the first 20), and for many of the reasons Bobby laid out. Every team in the NFL does this and nearly all college programs (I suspect even high school in some cases). It has become a widely accepted and utilized aspect of game planning.

Yes BobbyK I have thought about The scripted plays in regards to how the Seahawks can get a feel for how they are going to be defended, however in the last two games we have really been slow to get out of the box offensively.

Perhaps the scripted plays need to be changed or modified because they haven’t worked very well for us this year.

I agree that Unger is behind where he was last year. For Sweezy, he may be behind in pass pro, but he gets after it run blocking. They need to give one of those young stud linemen Bowie or Bailey the chance to prove themselves. It can’t be much worse than what McQ had to offer. I also think Carp will steadily improve.
Major props to BobbyK for naming and sticking with Walter Thurmond. He is absolutely a lock down corner. CB for Seattle is just an embarrassment of riches.

We welcome comments. Please keep them civil, short and to the point. ALL CAPS, spam, obscene, profane, abusive and off topic comments will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be blocked. Thanks for taking part and abiding by these simple rules.